(Newser)
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He tried chowing down on pink slime, but Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is ready to take his lean-finely-textured-beef-love one step further: He wants Congress to pitch in. Branstad on Monday called for a congressional investigation into how the pink slime "smear campaign" began. Of course, Branstad has his own theory: "It's a lean product, it helps reduce obesity and there is a spurious attack being levied against it by some groups. You can suspect who they might be. They are people who do not like meat." Other sources of "misinformation," according to Branstad: "Hollywood and the media elites."

"If they get by with this, what other food products are they going to attack next?" asks Branstad, who has received $150,000 from pink-slime producer Beef Products in the last two years. The AP notes that the words "pink slime" have been in circulation since 2009. In other pink slime news, MSNBC reports that the USDA has OKed a request by several meat producers, including Cargill, that will allow them to label packages containing LFTB.